vasu frequently appears in Mahabharatha name indexes and Puranic indexes as a name of a King who gave a disputed interpretation of cow-slaughter and was cursed to reside in Patala (hell) after his passing. By virtue of his penance (tapas) he actually merited the highest heaven. There is a sense here of purity which, when impugned or attacked as false or wrong actually shines with splendour in the highest domains of existence.

Diamonds – and other cut gems – get their brilliance from three things: reflection, refraction and dispersion. Reflection is the light that hits the diamond and is immediately bounced back up, giving it an instantaneous shine. … Only a portion of the light hitting a diamond is reflected; the rest travels through it. Ditto light in other gems. In this wise, the gems replicate the work of the planets themselves, who are jyoti swarup (embodiments of light) and amsa (part, representation of) the paramjyoti, the Lord of Time and Space. Hence the light that is reflected, refracted and dispersed in cut gems and diamonds is in fact the light of the self-effulgent Source of all Creation, viz, vasudeva, epithet of Lord Krishna.

We customarily define brilliance as a light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted. Sunlight is the light and energy that comes from the Sun. When this energy reaches the earth’s surface, it is called insolation. What we experience as sunlight is actually solar radiation. It is the radiation and heat from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic waves. The atmosphere affects the amount of solar radiation received. When solar radiation travels through the atmosphere, some of it is absorbed by the atmosphere (16%). Some of it is scattered to space (6%). Some of it is reflected by clouds (28%). About 47% of it reaches the Earth’s surface.

The light in which a gemstone is viewed is strongly influential to the color your eyes interpret. To understand why this is, an understanding of some of the basics behind light spectrums and what actually causes the human eye to perceive colors is required. Once this is understood, many questions will be answered as to why some gemstones look so different in contrasting lights.

Light is a small section of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. These particular wavelengths, when they strike sensors in the human eye, are interpreted as color. Light is perceived as many colors depending on the wavelength being viewed. The light we can see is only a tiny part of a huge spectrum of electromagnetic (EM) energy. The spectrum also includes visible radiations such as radio waves, microwaves and x-rays.

The apparent whiteness of the light we see coming from the sun or an ordinary light bulb is produced by the whole range of visible radiation mixed together. When a narrow beam of this light passes through a prism, its various waves spread out in a definite sequence. In the resulting band of light the shortest waves at one end produce a violet sensation, followed by ever longer waves we sense as areas of blue, green, yellow, orange and red. This is the sensation we get when viewing a rainbow.

Surya or the Sun with His Rays illumines all beings in the ten regions. Surya is the very Self of Prajapathi, and hence, all beings – both in the regions so illumined – become the very “self” of Prajapathi. The word “Prana” therefore refers to Adithya Itself, for Adithya (the Sun) gives Prana (the Vital Essence). Since all beings are able to live by consumption of food etc., the Sun is also known as Viswanara. The whole Universe is of His Nature and so He is also known as Viswarupa. Samvathsara or the year, is an indicator of Time, according to the position of the Sun. Time is but a series of days and nights, and these are phases caused by the Sun. The rotation of the Moon causes Thithis or stages in fullness. The twin Forces, the Sun and the Moon, are the products of Prajapathi and so, Time, which is marked out by the tropics, the seasons, the months etc., is also of the same essence. Prajapathi has the Northern and the Southern cycles also. (Upanishad Vahini)

Om Vasuve Namaha – Salutations to the One who is a shining jewel; goodness itself. The Sun’s qualities outshine those of any gem.